Grader



April' 21, 1925. 1,534,663 L. B. SAMMIS ET AL GRADER File/d May 26, 1924 INvEmioRs ATTonNEY B. .F.'z'cuzlc R. Hood,

Patented Apr. 21, 1925.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

BUBSON, CALIFORNIA.

GRADER.

Application filed May 26, 1924. Serial No. 715,842.

To allk whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, LOUIS B. SAMMIS and FRANK R. HOOD, citizens of the United States, residing at Wallace and Burson, respectively, county of Calaveras, State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Graders; and we do declare the following to ,be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being,f had to the accompanying drawings andfto the characters of reference marked thereon, which forma part of this application. 2 l v This invention relates .to improvements in grading devices, and particularly to one especially` intended for grading Olives, though it may bel made in different sizes, or adjusted, to grade any lfruit or other prod'uce'which4 's either round or has an oblong shape similar to an olive.

. The vprincipal objects of our invention are to provide a grader for signed that olives etc. of all varieties and sizes may be accurately graded, so as to give a Ycorrect count per pound; the Olives are not subjected to any violent shaking .or handling such as wouldbruise them; and the different grades of produce are kept separate from each other. The device is also very economical-to operate and adjust.

In connection with the grading device proper, we have applied a sorting belt structure, by means of which all oulls and imperfect fruit may be removed before the fruit is passed to be graded.

A further object of the invention yis to produce a simple and inexpensive device and yet one which will be exceedingly effective for the purpose for whichit is designed.

These Objects we `accomplish by means of such structure and relative arrangement of parts as will fully appear by a perusal of the following specification andV claims.

In the drawings similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several views: T

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional elevation of thegrader. Y p

Fig. 2 isa top plan view of thesame. ,Fig. 3 is atypical cross Sectionj of the de- Fig. 4 is a more Or less diagrammatic plan view of the endless belt arrangement used. Referring now more particularly to the characters of reference ings, the numeral 1 denotes the horizontal the purpose so de- -per cables and marked on the drawlength and divided disposed sections, by partitions 2 xed just sorting belt, of suitable into three transversely means of longitudinal above the upper run of the belt. A hop-per 3 discharges onto the middle section of the belt at one end thereof, the belt moving away from the hopper. At the other kend of said belt discharge chutes 4 lead downwardly from the side sections of the belt, while an apron 5 leads from the center seotion to the grader proper.

This structure comprises a suitable supporting framework 6 in which are journaled a pair ofshafts 7 and 8, in suitable horizontally spaced relation. On the shaft 7, which is under the apron, is a plurality of sheaves 9, one only of which the others being turnable thereon. Said shaft preferably has a pulley 10 or the rlike on one end, so that it may be driven by suitable power means. y c

Loose on the shaft 8, but held against longitudinal movement thereon, are sheaves 11 of the same size and to the same number as the sheaves 9, but spaced further apart than the latter, this spacing being made adjustable by any suitable means. An endless cable 12 passes over all the sheaves, preferably in the manner shown in Fig. 4, so that the upper runs of the cable all travel in the same the apron 5. 'Ihe cable is driven from the single fixedsheave on the shaft 7, and is kept at a suitable tension by means of a springpulled and adjustable tightener structure is fixed on the shaft, y

direction and away from j shown at 13 in Fig. 4 and acting on that Y ener applied to this one run of course main'- tains the entire cable at a common tension. i

Suitable spacer rollers 14, to keep the cables Y from spreading between the sheaves, are

disposed under the upper runs of the cable at certain intervals. It will thus bek seen that said upper runs, due to the uneven spacing of the sheaves 9 and 11, form a series of slots of gradually increasing width from end to end, the slots being narrowest at the apron 5. Y

Loosely suspended from longitudinally spaced supports 15 mounted abo-ve the upextending across the saine are fingers or pins 16, directly above the various cables and terminating just clear of the same.

These pins cannot drop furthe-r down, but have considerable freedom of lateral swinging movement about their upper ends as an axis or fulcrum.

Mounted under the upper cable runs but above the lower ones is a longitudinal tray 17 having a transverse downward slope from one side to the other, and projecting at IOne side outwardly of the plane of the cables, as shown in Fig. 8. A plurality of longitudinally `spaced discharge spouts 18 lead downwardly from the lowest level of the tray.

This 'tray is adju-stably divided into the same number of'compartments as there are spouts, by means of vertical partitions 19 extending transversely thereof. These partitions are detachably connected to the upper side of the tray by means of lugs 2O on the partit-ions which .fit into any at a time of a number of suitably disposed slots 21 in the upper side-wall 17a of the tray. Onto the opposite ends of the partitions are hinged vertical plates 22 which have sliding and telescopic connection with similar plates 23 themselves permanently hinged onto the lower side wall 17 'of the tray between the spouts` 18. The hinge pins 24 of 4enables a contin-uous rside of the tray,

at this time.

the plates 22 project below the same and are adapted to seat in holes 25, in the bottom of `the tray, these holes being in transverse alinement with the slots 21.

By means of this construction, the longi- 'tudinal setting of any partition in the tray may be altered one way or the other, so as to alter the relation of the partitions to the width of the spaces or slots between the cables above, and increase or decrease the spacing between any two partitions. At the same time, the fruit between any two partitions will always discharge from the same spout 18, since the lower ends of the parti` Ytion structures are permanently fixed.

The 'number of partitions employed determines the number of grades or sizes of the fruit, while their setting relative to each other and to the cables determines the size of each grade and consequently the count per pound of fruit.

The lhinged telescoping plate arrangement partition to be maintained between a. fixed point at the lower and an adjustable pointat the upper side thereof, while allowing the Ymain partitions 19 to be kept in a direct transverse plane. Y

In ope-ration, the olives as they come from the orchard areplaced in the hopper 3, from which they pass by gravity onto the sorting belt 1. Here the olives are sorted, the culls etc. being placed on the side sections of the belt and being discharged therefrom into the chutes 4. Theolives are also stemmed The fruit remaining on the belt passes over t-he apron 5 ontothegradhorizontal plane and fbles,

ing cables 12, which trave-lling away from the apron, carry the olives along until the width of the slots between the cables is suflicient to allow the olives to drop therethrough into the tray beneath. The larger the olives, the further they will travel before dropping through, and any too large to pass through at all, are carried over an apron 26 beyond the sheaves l1.

In grading olives, their diameter rather than their lengt-h is considered, and since most olives are oblong they sometimes tend to ride crosswise of the cables. The fingers 16 act to turn the olives so that they ride lengthwise of the cables, or so that transverse axis is at right angles to the cables. By reason of the fact that these fingers are flexibly hung, they `will not dama-ge or bruise the fruit in any way, large olives merely causing' the lingers to spreadlaterally so as to enable said olives to pass by. The rollers 14, as well as the various sheaves, are concaved between the cables, so as to cause the olives to be supported by the cables at all times, and-enabling them to maintain the lengthwise position thereof on the cables.

VFrom the foregoing description it will be readily seen that we have produced such a device as substantially fulfills the objects of the invention as setforth herein.

lVhile this specification sets forth -in detail the present and preferred construction of the device, still in practice such deviations from such detail may be resorted to as do not form a departure from the v'spirit of the invention, as defined by the `appended claims.

Having thus described our invention what we claim as new and usefuland de` sire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A grader including sheaves arranged in longitudinal sets, the sheaves of one -set being spaced transversely a different distance from those of the other. set, and a single endless driven-cable passed about all the sheaves.

.2. A grader including sheaves arranged in longitudinal sets, the sheaves 'of one set being spaced transversely a different distance from those ofthe otherset, a. single endless cable passed about all thesheaves, the upper runs of said cable being. adapted to all .move in the same direction and extending between correspondingsheaves of the sets.

3. A grader comprising a plurality of driven cable lengt-lis arranged in a common other'from end to end, a tray under said cables, discharge openings at intervals in the length of the tray, longitudinallyadjustable partitions in the tray between 4the diverging from each spouts and extending transversely of the cal and means whereby fruit dropping from between the cables into the tray-area between any two partitions therein will always be diverted to the same opening regardless of the adjustment of the partitions.

4. A grader comprising a plurality of driven cable lengths arranged in a common horizontal plane and diverging from each other from e-nd to end, a tray under said cables, discharge openings at intervals in the length of the tray, longitudinally adjustable partitions in the tray extending transversely of the cables, and auxiliary partitions flexibly connected at one end to the first named partitions and similarly but permanently connected at their other ends to the tray between the opening.

5. A. grader comprising a plurality of driveny Gable lengths arranged in a common horizontal plane and diverging from each other from end to end, the fruit to be graded being adapted to be placed on said cables at the end thereof closest together,

and pins arranged for limited universal movement being directly above the cables in transverse alinement therewith and terminating clear of the same.

6. A grader comprising a plurality of driven eable lengths arranged in a common horizontal plane and diverging from each other from end to end, the fruit to be graded being adapted to be placed on said cables at the end thereof closest together, and flexibly hung pins directly above the cables at spaced intervals in the length thereof.

In testimony whereof we affix our signatures.

Louis B. sAMMis. FRANK R.y Hoon. 

